GET A RARE LOOK INSIDE A BALD EAGLE NEST IN THE WILD

Dogs Are People Too!

This blog is dedicated to our four-legged friends-everyone's favorite pet-the beloved dog. Here we can discuss anything and everything related to dogs. We can share stories, photos, health and training tips, grooming tips; anything and everything related to the canines in our lives. Welcome and please do not hesitate to comment! I love to read other's stories and this blog was created to share. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you come back often!ABOUT MAGGIE-We decided to get a puppy and began scouring the local online market places in the beginning of July in 2005. We answered an ad that was advertising small, mixed breed pups, made an appointment and drove an hour north to Nordingrå to visit the puppies. The breeder had the puppies out in her yard in a small enclosure. The pups were 8 weeks old. She told us that the mother was a Papillon and that the father was a Yorkshire Terrier. Both parents were there. One of the puppies looked very much like a Chihuahua, as he was short-haired and black and tan colored. I questioned the owner, because the father of the puppies did not look like a pure bred Yorkie to me, but she insisted that he was.There were four puppies in the litter. One had been sold already. Beside the one that looked like a Chihuahua, there was Maggie and then another female that had the same features as Maggie, only she was all brown with a black stripe running down the middle of her back. We decided that we liked the coloring of little Maggie and her sweet disposition, so we happily bought her and took her home that day.I have heard of so many names of this mixed breed. They can be called Yorkipaps, Papiyorks or Yorkillons! Maggie has the Yorkie face with the Pap ears and coloring. So many people that meet her have said what a perfect combination of breeds she seems to be!One of the neat things about Maggie is that we will never forget her birthday. She was born on May 5, 2005, so it's 5/5/05! So I suppose you could say that her lucky number is 5!

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

What a lovely fall morning we have here in Sweden today. I have been out with the dog already this morning. We are going to take a drive to some friends who live on Alnö, a large island near here. I have added a photo of Maggie by the Baltic Sea that I took yesterday.I saw on the news this past week of a local man who was attacked and bitten by a pitbull. The pitbull was roaming free, which is against the law here in Sundsvall. All dogs must be leashed while in public places. I have had a run-in with this particular pitbull owner in the past. I was walking Maggie on a leash one day, several months ago. When we turned a corner, a pitbull came charging toward Maggie! I quickly plucked her up into my arms and turned my back to the charging dog to somehow try to protect us both. (although I knew this was little protection, should the dog attack). Luckily the dog lost interest and wandered away. I asked the owner, whom was casually walking in my direction, to please kindly keep his dog leashed. He became defensive and raised his voice to me, saying that his dog is harmless, he doesn't bite, etc. I calmly told him that it is the law and that my small dog would be no match for the pitbull. He only became more angry, resorted to name calling, so I simply walked away. Unfortunately, at least it seems here, that often the owners of pitbulls are young males. It is somehow seen as 'macho thing' around here to own a pitbull. I have nothing against the breed; I realize that often it is the owners of these dogs whom cause the aggressive behavior in their pets. But we have all read the horror stories in the news regarding pitbull attacks and many of the attacks seem to be unprovoked. Maggie is really, really well-behaved and trained. Any comments? Until next time, Cin